German Chancellor Friedrich Merz delivered an emotional address at the reopening of the Reichenbachstrasse Synagogue in Munich on Monday, voicing both shame and determination in the face of rising antisemitism.

Wearing a kippah and visibly moved, Merz recalled the synagogue’s tragic history and the Holocaust while acknowledging today’s challenges for Germany’s Jews. “We are reopening the synagogue for the third time, again under extremely difficult conditions,” he said, noting that police stand guard at Jewish institutions across the country. “Antisemitism has never disappeared from the Federal Republic of Germany, and many of you know this from your bitter experience.”

The ceremony, attended by Munich Jewish community president Charlotte Knobloch, Israeli Ambassador Ron Prosor, and Central Council of Jews chairman Josef Schuster, was both a moment of remembrance and a declaration of commitment. Merz pledged that the government will ensure Jewish life in Germany can flourish without fear, framing this as the true meaning of “Never again.”